Gender Roles and Representation in A Multilingual Children’s Book: An Anthology of Indonesian Children’s Stories
Ahmad Ahmad(1*), Ashabul Kahfi Susanto(2)
(1) Universitas Islam Negeri Alauddin Makassar
(2) University of Aberdeen
(*) Corresponding Author
Abstract
All children should be able to see themselves reflected in the books they read. However, in some children’s books, male and female characters are not always equally represented. When these characters are included, it is important to see how they are portrayed. This study aims to examine gender representation in An Anthology of Indonesian Children’s Stories published by The Agency for Language Development and Cultivation, The Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology in 2022, by focusing on revealing two aspects. The first involves comparing the ratio of male and female protagonists, as well as other characters, using the quantitative method. The second focuses on examining the portrayal of gender roles among the protagonist characters using the qualitative method. The findings show that male protagonists outnumber female protagonists by a ratio of 7:3. However, although only three out of ten stories have three female protagonists, they are represented as having progressive gender roles: adventurous and empowered. In addition, certain stories appear to reinforce traditional gender roles. Yet, they also portray the cultural values of “Gotong Royong” which promote cooperation within family: men and women have their own responsibilities to support their communities.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Abad, C., & Pruden, S M. (2013, January 1). Do storybooks really break children's gender stereotypes?. Frontiers Media, 4. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00986
Ahmad, A. (2018). Women and Social Equality in The Plays of George Bernard Shaw. International Journal of Social Sciences and Interdisciplinary Studies, 3(1), 21. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/ijssis/issue/55412/759783
Amaradinta, S., Zaman, M. N., & Mustofa, A. (2023). Translation Study of Cultural Terms in Children’s Bilingual Storybook Entitled “Antologi Cerita Anak Indonesia.” ISoBispro, 2(2), 107–116.
Aparisi, D., Delgado, B., Bo, R., & Martínez-Monteagudo, M C. (2021). Relationship between Cyberbullying, Motivation and Learning Strategies, Academic Performance, and the Ability to Adapt to University. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18(20), 10646. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182010646
Atqi, A. A. H. (2022). The Representation of Gender Bias in Children’s Literature Kingdom Tale Collections (Feminist Literary Criticism Review). JURNAL BASIS, 9(2), 291–302.
Calton, J. M., Heesacker, M., & Perrin, P. B. (2014). The elusiveness of progressive masculinity: Gender differences in conceptualizations of nontraditional gender roles. Journal of Gender and Power 2(2), 37-58.
Blangsinga, G W K A A., Suwastini, N K A., Lasmawan, I W., Adnyani, N L P S., & Rusnalasari, Z D. (2021, January 1). Patriarchal Binary Oppositions in Narrative Texts Included in English Textbook for Senior High School in Indonesia. Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Technology and Educational Science (ICTES 2020), 135-141. https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.210407.227.
Crisp, T., & Hiller, B. (2011). “Is this a boy or a girl?”: Rethinking sex-role representation in Caldecott Medal-winning picturebooks, 1938–2011. Children’s Literature in Education, 42, 196–212.
Fowler, R. (2013). Linguistics and novel. Routledge.
Gooden, A. M., & Gooden, M. A. (2001). Gender representation in notable children’s picture books: 1995–1999. Sex Roles, 45, 89–101.
Hidayat, S. (2017). Perjuangan Perempuan Papua dalam Novel Namaku Teweraut dan Tanah Tabu. Madah: Jurnal Bahasa Dan Sastra, 8(2), 137–148.
Hintz, C., & Tribunella, E. L. (2019). Reading children’s literature: A critical introduction. Broadview Press.
Katz, E. D. (2021). Sex, Suffrage, and State Constitutional Law: Women’s Legal Right to Hold Public Office. Yale JL & Feminism, 33, 110.
Kesuma, A. I. (2019). Role of Women According to Ancient Text Perspective and Bugis Community Historical Context (Finding Relevance in the Modern Context Society in South Sulawesi). 1st International Conference on Advanced Multidisciplinary Research (ICAMR 2018), 500–503.
Kuntjara, E. (1997, January 1). Challenging the Tradition of Javanese Women. Taylor & Francis, 3(3), 77-100. https://doi.org/10.1080/12259276.1997.11665802
Lazar, M. M. (2007). Feminist critical discourse analysis: Articulating a feminist discourse praxis. Critical Discourse Studies, 4(2), 141–164.
Lee, J. F. K., & Chin, A. C. O. (2019). Are females and males equitably represented? A study of early readers. Linguistics and Education, 49, 52–61.
Lestari, M., & Yulindrasari, H. (2021, January 1). Does Gender in Children’s Books Matter?. https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.210322.008
Lindahl-Wise, M. (2023). Heroines and Mothers: Female Representation in the Carnegie Medal Winners 1936–2020. Children’s Literature in Education, 1–18.
McCabe, J., Fairchild, E., Grauerholz, L., Pescosolido, B. A., & Tope, D. (2011). Gender in twentieth-century children’s books: Patterns of disparity in titles and central characters. Gender & Society, 25(2), 197–226.
Molina, L., & Hurtado Albir, A. (2002). Translation techniques revisited: A dynamic and functionalist approach. Meta, 47(4), 498–512.
Nababan, M., & Nuraeni, A. (2012). Pengembangan model penilaian kualitas terjemahan.
Nodelman, P. (2008). The hidden adult: Defining children’s literature. JHU Press.
Reeves, J B. (1987, July 1). Work and family roles: Contemporary women in Indonesia. Taylor & Francis, 7(3), 223-242. https://doi.org/10.1080/02732173.1987.9981820
Riscitadewi, A. A. M., Darpan, Majid, D., Rifanto, D., Adriana, M. D., Tary, M., Batu, M., Kadok, P., Gaudiamo, R., Khamary, S., & Hardi, S. P. (2022). An Anthology of Indonesian Children’s Stories (E. L. M. Nababan (ed.)). The Agency for Language Development and Cultivation, The Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology.
Rosyani, R., Muchlis, F., Napitupulu, D., & Faust, H. (2019, August 31). Gotong royong (cooperation) transformation of rural communities in Jambi Province, Indonesia. Jambi University, 7(1), 103-110. https://doi.org/10.22437/ppd.v7i1.7466
Sakai, M., & Fauzia, A. (2016, February 18). Performing Muslim Womanhood: Muslim Business Women Moderating Islamic Practices in Contemporary Indonesia. Routledge, 27(3), 229-249. https://doi.org/10.1080/09596410.2015.1114243
Smith, B. H. (2016). What was “close reading”? A century of method in literary studies. The Minnesota Review, 2016(87), 57–75.
Stromquist, N. P. (2003). Education as a means for empowering women. In Rethinking empowerment (pp. 22–38). Routledge.
Tsao, Y.-L. (2008). Gender issues in young children’s literature. Reading Improvement, 45(3), 108–115.
Tyson, L. (2023). Critical theory today: A user-friendly guide. Routledge.
Ulfa, F., Mukaromah, N., & Puspitasari, D. (2023). Gender Bias Analysis And Right To Fight For Gender Equality In Education Through The Children’s Book “I Am Kartini.” Berumpun: International Journal of Social, Politics, and Humanities, 6(2), 112–127.
Ullah, H., Ali, J., & Naz, A. (2014). Gender representation in children’s books: A critical review of empirical studies. World Applied Sciences Journal, 29(1), 134–141.
Wall, B., & Crevecoeur, Y. (2016). Narrator’s voice: The dilemma of children’s fiction. Springer.
Yang, E. C. L., Khoo-Lattimore, C., & Arcodia, C. (2018). Power and empowerment: How Asian solo female travellers perceive and negotiate risks. Tourism Management, 68, 32–45.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22146/lexicon.v11i2.99598
Article Metrics
Abstract views : 740 | views : 358Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Copyright (c) 2024 Ahmad Ahmad, Ashabul Kahfi Susanto
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Lexicon Office
English Department Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada Soegondo Building, 3rd Floor, Room 306 Yogyakarta, Indonesia 55281 Telephone: +62 274 513096 Email: lexicon.fib@ugm.ac.id ISSN: 2746-2668 (Online) |
LEXICON is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. |
Lexicon is indexed in